To accommodate larger families or those that just need more room, there has been an explosion of seven-seat cars recently. The best one of course is Citroen’s Berlingo. The Multispace in particular is a good fit because it’s a little bigger than its predecessor.

Other family friendly features:

Sliding doors that make it easy to get out in tight spaces without a five year old scratching up the other cars in the parking lot.

Rear seats (aaaallll the way in the back) that can be removed for luggage.

All back seats can be removed individually revealing durable carpet and a large open space (100 litres with seats, 650 without!)

And the winner for the “Best New Van” and “Best Light Van” awards go to….

The Citroën Berlingo range!!!!!

This was announced in London at the 2009 Van Fleet World Honours thanks to the van’s “unique range of operational, financial, comfort and safety benefits, which enabled it to overcome strong opposition from rival products.”

The UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is getting a new round of Berlingos that it will keep for 5 years. With a little modification it’s an ever better fit for their needs.

One rep says, “The new Berlingo and Dispatch vans are part of a move to future-proof our van operations, by raising our already high standards of animal welfare and further improve the Health and Safety aspects of our inspectors’ work. For the new Citroën vans we have developed a new, standardised modular van interior, which makes the work of our inspectors safer and more convenient and improves the facilities for the treatment and transport of rescued animals.”